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    Annihilate Stress and Anxiety: 21 Proven Strategies for a Balanced Life
    Annihilate Stress and Anxiety: 21 Proven Strategies for a Balanced Life
    Annihilate Stress and Anxiety: 21 Proven Strategies for a Balanced Life
    Ebook208 pages2 hours

    Annihilate Stress and Anxiety: 21 Proven Strategies for a Balanced Life

    By Merryn Snare

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    About this ebook

    It is well known that mental health is fast becoming the major health issue world-wide, and it is clear that stress and anxiety are increasing at an alarming rate. We also know that where possible, prevention is better than a cure, and understanding what is causing stress and anxiety, and being equipped to manage it is extremely important. In my work as a psychologist, I believe that educating and empowering people to deal with the issues they are able to influence is of paramount importance, and leads to a healthier society. The stress reaction is a prime example.
    This book is intended for the general population and sets out to provide a practical approach to managing stress and anxiety more effectively, enabling individuals to lead a more fulfilling life.
    Understanding how and why stress levels build, and what you can do about it, is the key message in this book. The role your mind plays in your response to stress is often under-estimated, and with a greater awareness of key stressors, individuals are better placed to manage their lifestyle and capitalize on plasticity of the brain to make the necessary changes to their stress reactions. Habits can be changed - unhelpful habits can be extinguished or modified and replaced with more positive behaviour patterns.
    The practical key to this book is the 21 strategies which cover different categories. These include strategies for Immediate Relief - techniques you can immediately implement when you feel stressed, Lifestyle Habits - developing and maintaining a healthy lifestyle is a natural combatant for stress, Thinking About It - understanding the role of your thoughts in your stress reactions and how to improve them - crucial to long-term relief, Personal Preferences - activities that you find relaxing, and the Essential Elements which overviews the key strategy of the Pearls of Resilience. These strategies are simple and practical, and only require focus and repetition to become part of your response to stress. Examples of how to apply these strategies, both individually and in combination, are illustrated through people's stories.
    In essence, you will learn how to protect yourself from being ruled by stress as you implement these lifelong strategies for stress management.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherGlobal Publishing Group
    Release dateDec 1, 2014
    ISBN9781742984759
    Annihilate Stress and Anxiety: 21 Proven Strategies for a Balanced Life

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      Book preview

      Annihilate Stress and Anxiety - Merryn Snare

      titletitle2

      DISCLAIMER

      All the information, techniques, skills and concepts contained within this publication are of the nature of general comment only and are not in any way recommended as individual advice. The intent is to offer a variety of information to provide a wider range of choices now and in the future, recognising that we all have widely diverse circumstances and viewpoints.

      Should any reader choose to make use of the information contained herein, this is their decision, and the contributors (and their companies), authors and publishers do not assume any responsibilities whatsoever under any condition or circumstances. It is recommended that the reader obtain their own independent advice.

      First Edition 2014

      Copyright © 2014 Merryn Snare

      All rights are reserved. The material contained within this book is protected by copyright law, no part may be copied, reproduced, presented, stored, communicated or transmitted in any form by any means without prior written permission..

      National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry

      Snare, Merryn, author.

      Annihilate stress and anxiety : 21 proven strategies for a balanced life / Merryn Snare.

      ISBN: 9781742984759 (eBook)

      Stress (Psychology)—Prevention.

      Anxiety—Prevention.

      Stress management.

      616.85223

      Published by Global Publishing Group

      PO Box 517 Mt Evelyn, Victoria 3796 Australia

      Email info@GlobalPublishingGroup.com.au

      For Further information about orders:

      Phone: +61 3 9739 4686 or Fax +61 3 8648 6871

      Digital distribution by Ebook Alchemy

      Conversion by Winking Billy

      DEDICATION

      I dedicate this book to my delightful daughter, Laura, whose love, support and generosity of heart, mind and spirit is my inspiration, and to my late parents Olwyn and Wes who always gave me unconditional love and support and encouraged me to achieve my goals. And finally, to my late husband Bruce, who always believed in my ability to achieve my goals and make a difference.

      ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

      Whilst my purpose in writing this book has been about encapsulating my professional experience and transforming it into print, I have been fortunate to have met many wonderful people along the way – clients and colleagues alike. I would like to thank them all for sharing their wisdom and perspectives with me. I would also like to acknowledge the support and guidance offered by friends and colleagues which has been so generously shared with me throughout my career; in particular Joseph Gagliano, Maryla Juchnowski, Rosi Bullock, Maureen Hay and Paula Saltalamacchia.

      I also acknowledge the work done by ADAVIC (Anxiety Disorders Association of Victoria), Beyond Blue and Sane, all of which contribute significantly to the area of mental health in our community. From a broader perspective, I would also like to mention the work of Oprah and Dr Phil, who through their media platforms have assisted in raising the profile and importance of mental health care across the globe.

      To the various mentors who have offered their guidance, I thank them for their inspirational insights, and to the Global Publishing Team, whose guidance and support made this project a reality.

      Finally, I make special mention of my editor, Laura Macintosh, whose willingness and enthusiastic support has made this project even more rewarding.

      bonus

      www.AnnihilateStressAndAnxiety.com/bonus

      TABLE OF CONTENTS

      PART 1 – The ‘How and Why’ of your Mind

      Chapter 1 – What is Stress?

      Chapter 2 – What is Anxiety?

      Chapter 3 – Understanding our Thinking Patterns

      PART 2 – Learning to Change Your Mind

      Chapter 4 – Who is in Charge?

      Chapter 5 – 21 Proven Strategies: Part 1: Strategies for Immediate Relief

      Chapter 6 – 21 Proven Strategies: Part 2: Lifestyle Habits

      Chapter 7 – 21 Proven Strategies: Part 3: Thinking About It

      Chapter 8 – 21 Proven Strategies: Part 4: The Essential Elements

      Chapter 9 – Effective Strategy Combinations People’s Stories

      Chapter 10 – Additional Treatment Methodologies

      Final Word

      About the Author

      References

      Recommended Resources

      INTRODUCTION

      The Prevalence and Pervasiveness of Stress and Anxiety

      Whilst most of us are well aware that stress is a fact of life, it seems that much time and energy is consumed by this natural phenomenon in a negative manner. Whilst stress in its acute form can be exciting or motivating, like the adrenaline rush experienced by the thrill of a physical activity, for example jumping the wake on skis behind a speedboat, riding a jet-ski, hot-air ballooning, or being a spectator at a tense match of your favourite sport; this level of excitement or stress is not sustainable indefinitely, and hence, constant stress becomes a burden. Added to this are the demands we place upon ourselves – expectations that we would never expect of another, and yet we tend to beat ourselves up if we do not achieve the ‘greatness’ that our minds have conjured into a raft of high-performing and high-achieving expectations. When we leave these expectations and demands unchecked, they are likely to lead to more serious mental illnesses, such as anxiety and clinical depression, and yet if caught and treated early, stress and anxiety is very treatable.

      A recent study commissioned by the Australian Psychological Society to examine the status of wellbeing of Australian adults found that twelve percent of adults experienced extremely severe stress¹. In addition, one in three was found to suffer depressive symptoms (with 10% of these being in the severe range) and one in four suffered anxiety symptoms (9% of whom fell within the severe range). The Australian results were found to be similar to studies conducted elsewhere in the western world, including the USA and UK. The concerning feature of these studies is that stress is on the increase, and if twelve percent are suffering severe stress, the numbers suffering stress significant enough to impact their quality of life is likely to be far greater. This survey found the primary sources of stress to be financial issues, personal health, family issues and the health of others, and 30% of people cited work-related stress. The impact of stress is wide-reaching; it affects our physical and emotional health, and often shows up in maladaptive behaviours if not treated and taken seriously.

      A timely reminder: if you do not, will not or cannot look out for you, who will?

      Stress is also having a social impact on society, as reported by a study conducted by The Emily Post Institute in Boston, U.S.A. This study followed a survey conducted in 2005, when on examining questions of etiquette it was found that 69% of participants believed Americans were ruder than previously. Curious at this seemingly high figure, the author was keen to re-test the social climate and found a resounding 82% of participants believed that American society was ruder than previously. Whilst the 2008 recession was largely blamed for adding stress to people’s lives, it was concluded that stress and rudeness present in a recurring cycle. Much post-recession stress was linked to workplaces downsizing or closing their doors, but once again the role of technology emerged. Organizations keen to work smarter are using technology with increasing sophistication, whilst workers are under increasing pressure to ‘do more with less’². Once again it becomes evident just how difficult it can be to separate the causes of stress, with causal factors occurring both within and external to the workplace.

      Considering that mental health issues such as stress and anxiety were barely acknowledged 20 years ago, it is clear that our society has significantly improved its understanding of the importance of these issues. However, although we better accept and acknowledge the importance of mental health as the underpinning of sound health in general, so has our lifestyle become more complex and demanding. Whilst technology and the field of medical science has made many wonderful advancements, so too has it made life more difficult and stressful.

      In short, most people seek to realize their potential, and to do this they need to be able to manage their competing priorities in order to work productively and make a contribution.

      So what is it that gets in the way?

      Stress!

      In most cases, it gets back to learning how to understand the role and impact of stress and to identify and manage or alter the stressors that create one’s stress.

      Why this book?

      My intention in writing this book is to create a practical handbook for readers that provide explanations and strategies to enable them to understand and better manage stress and anxiety. My big hope is that this will help people to understand stress, how and why they react to it, the uncomfortable side effects that accompany it, and to learn how they can manage and take control of it, becoming more resilient, and enabling them to enjoy life rather than allowing stress to dictate.

      Before proceeding further, I should be clear about what this book is not. It is not a literature review detailing the latest research. Whilst research and reviews of such have a very important function and as a psychologist was the foundation of my training, this is not what I am setting out to do. Nor is this book a comparison of different psychological approaches. It does not compare or evaluate, nor does it tell you the pros and cons of one psychological approach over another. It is a book which outlines the tools, strategies and methodologies that I use regularly in my clinical practice, and which seem to provide positive outcomes for those who implement them.

      Understanding how and why stress and anxiety develop, and why they escalate causing discomfort to the point where it impacts ones quality of life, is a crucial first step in building personal resilience. We need to understand that stress and anxiety are common and ‘normal’ events, but we should also be aware that when stress diminishes our quality of life rendering it less enjoyable or fulfilling, or when it marginalizes us in some way, we need to do something about it.

      The tools and strategies I outline in this book have been tried and tested in my clinical practice over many years by my clients. They are techniques that I find to be simple, but effective; I believe simplicity is essential if people are serious about enhancing their coping strategies or modifying their behaviours. If the strategy is complex and too time-consuming, when under pressure it becomes too difficult to remember what to do, how to do it, or even to do it all. The most difficult part is remembering to ‘Do It’.

      Hence, my goal for my clients, and you, the reader, is to assist in building your own personal toolkit of strategies to enable you to manage the daily ebb and flow of stress and anxiety. There will naturally be some strategies in this book that you enjoy or find easier to implement than others, which is absolutely fine. It is about filling your toolkit with as many strategies as possible and then working with the ones that you find most effective for the situation at hand.

      This is not intended to replace professional treatment for severe stress, anxiety or depression, but if you adopt your personal combination of strategies early, you are better placed to prevent many stress situations from becoming overwhelming, thereby annihilating stress and anxiety before it gets a grip!

      So, what does it require from you? The first step is that you have bought this book – and I thank you for that – but really, the first decision is to adapt your

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